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Cats (2017 Film)
Cats is a 2017 musical comedy-drama film based on the musical based of the same name which in turn was based on Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats ''by T.S. Elliot. It was directed by Tom Hooper, and starred Jennifer Hudson, Robert Fairchild, Mette Towley, James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Suki Waterhouse, Taylor Swift, Francesca Hayward, Judi Dench, And Idris Elba. It was released on December 20th, 2017, by Paramount Pictures, and it got generally favorable reviews. Plot Over a single night, a tribe of cats called the Jellicles make what its known as “The Jellicles Choice” and decide which cat will ascend the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new life. Cast * Robert Fairchild as Munkustrap * Mette Towley as Jemima * Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella * Ian McKellen as Gus The Theatre Cat * Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy * Francesca Hayward as Victoria * Taylor Swift as Bombalurina * Suki Waterhouse as Demeter * Alina Somova as Jellylorum * James Corden as Bustopher Jones * Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots * Alexandra Daddario as Rumpleteazer * Zac Efron as Mungojerrie * Steven McRae as Skimbleshanks * Frederico Bonelli as Mr. Mistoffelees * Melissa Madden Gray as Griddlebone * James Monroe Iglehart as Growltiger * Vadim Muntagirov as Alonzo * Jonadette Carpio as Syllabub * Laurie Davidson as Rumpus Cat * Daniela Norman as Cassandra * Ivan Vasiliev as Corpricocat * Natalia Osipova as Tantomile * Eric Underwood as Admetus * Laurent Nicholas as Plato * Larry Nicholas as Socrates * Jason Derulo as Rum Tum Tugger * Idris Elba as Macavity Trivia * Bobby Moynihan was originally cast for Bustopher Jones, while Kate McKinnon was originally cast for Jennyanydots. * It was reported that Shirley Maclaine and Barbra Streisand were both considered to play Old Deueteronomy, but both withdrew their role. * This was the first time ever that Old Deuteronomy (who was played by Judi Dench) was played by a female, while the broadway play was originally played by a male. * This is Efron & Daddario’s second movie together, with the first one being ''Baywatch back in May 2017 * Emma Watson was once considered for the role. * On March 2014, Tom Hooper wanted Alec Baldwin to play the villainous Macavity, (And it would’ve been his second time playing the villainous feline with the first being Makunga ''in ''Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa) however, in May 30th, 2015, Baldwin left the project due to scheduling conflicts. * DJ Snake was once considered to play the role of Rum Tum Tugger. * Cats was originally scheduled for a release date on December 25th, 2016. However, it was pushed back to December 25th, 2017. To avoid competition of La La Land. Before it was pushed up 5 days before Christmas Day 2017 to December 20th, 2017. * In the beginning of 2012, it was reported that Universal Studios would make a theatrical movie release of Cats. However, on January 2014, it was reported that Universal Studios had dropped the project. On March 30, 2014, it was reported that Paramount Pictures had picked up the rights for the film. On September 15, 2014, Paramount gave the movie a release date on December 25, 2016, however, on July 20th, 2015, it was reported that it was rescheduled for a December 25th, 2017. It was later announced that the movie had to be rescheduled to avoid the competition of another musical movie, La La Land. ''Then, in August 2017, it was announced that ''Cats ''moved up five days earlier before Christmas Day 2017. And the film was produced by Paramount Players, The Really Useful Group, and Amblin Entertainment. * Plans for an animated film based on a musical we’re planned by Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1988, but was scrapped due to the unfinished animation, and was canceled in 1986. Andrew Lloyd Webber, creator and composer of the musical stage production, ''Cats ''teased that Walt Disney Pictures has abandoned this project many years ago, until Universal picked up the project temporarily, until January 2014. Then, Paramount had decided to pick up the rights for this project in March 2014, and ever since then, the project had started moving forward. * This was the first ever ''Cats: The Musical ''movie not to be distributed by Universal Studios. Production * The project was first announced in 2011. In February 2013, Tom Hooper was in negotiation to direct the ''Cats ''musical, and in May 2013, Tom Hooper was officially confirmed to direct. * On June 19th, 2014, it was announced that Robert Fairchild, Mette Towley, Jennifer Hudson, And Ian McKellen had joined the cast for the musical movie, ''Cats. * On May 12th, 2016, Taylor Swift, Suki Waterhouse, And Laurie Davidson was casted to star in the film. * On June 2016, Idris Elba, and Jason Derulo were cast for the film. * On July 2016, Rebel Wilson, James Corden, Frederico Bonelli, Franscesca Hayward, Alexandra Daddrio, and Judi Dench were all casted for the film. * And on August 2016, Zac Efron, Alina Somova, and Steven McRae were cast. Filming Rehearsals began in November 2016, in Leavensden Studios in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, and principal photography began on December 2016, and concluded in March 2017. Music Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote all of the songs appearing in the film. Musical Numbers # “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats” - Company # “The Naming of Cats” - Company # “That Old Gumbie Cat” - Robert Fairchild, Taylor Swift, Suki Waterhouse, Alina Somova, Rebel Wilson, Girls # “The Rum Tum Tugger” - Jason Derulo, Frederico Bonelli, Taylor Swift, Company # “Entry of Grizabella” - Jennifer Hudson, Suki Waterhouse, Taylor Swift # “Bustopher Jones” - James Corden, Rebel Wilson, Taylor Swift, Alina Somova, Man # “Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer” - Zac Efron, Alexandra Daddario # “Old Deuteronomy” - Natalia Osipova, Ivan Vasiliev, Jason Derulo, Robert Fairchild, Judi Dench, Company # “The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Policies” - Laurie Davidson, Robert Fairchild, Alexandra Daddario, Larry Nicholas, Zac Efron, Judi Dench, Company # “The Songs of the Jellicles” - Judi Dench, Robert Fairchild, Fransesca Hayward, Mette Towley, George, Eric Underwood, Frederico Bonelli, Steven McRae, Les Twins, Vadim Muntagirov, Ian McKellen, Suki Waterhouse, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson, Alina Somova, Liu Yifei, Company # “Grizabella: The Theatre Cat” - Jennifer Hudson # “The Moment of Happiness” - Judi Dench, Mette Towley, Company # “Gus: The Theatre Cat” - Ian McKellen, Alina Somova # "Growltiger's Last Stand Part 1" - James Monrow Iglehart, Vadim Muntagirov, Company, Jason Derulo, Melissa Madden Gray, Robert Fairchild, Steven McRae, Frederico Bonelli # "The Gus of Billy McCaw" - Ian McKellen, Melissa Madden Gray, Ensemble # "Growltiger's Last Stand Part 2" - James Monroe Iglehart, Ivan Vasiliev, Company # “Gus: The Theatre Cat (Reprise)” - Ian McKellen # “Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat” - Judi Dench, Alexandra Daddario, Steven McRae, Alina Somova, Company # “Macavity: The Mystery Cat” - Idris Elba, Suki Waterhouse, Taylor Swift, Girls # “Mr. Mistoffelees” - Frederico Bonelli, Company # “Memory” - Jennifer Hudson, Mette Towley, Robert Fairchild # “The Journey to the Heaviside Layer” - Company # “The Ad-Dressing of Cats” - Judi Dench, Company # “Finale” - Company Soundtrack The soundtrack album is produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, featuring twenty-first tracks performed by the cast. In the United Kingdom it became only the second album in 30 years to achieve 21 consecutive weeks at number 1. Cats ''now draws level with Adele’s ''21 ''for the longest unbroken run at the UK summit in the last 30 years. The cast album is now at 910,000 combined units, according to the Official Arts Company, made up of 420,000 physical copies, 186,000 downloads and 186,000 streaming. 'Cats: Reimagined' On November 16th, 2018, Paramount released a cover album entitled ''Cats: Reimagined, ''featuring a variety of artists. Release ''Cats ''held its premiere on December 8th, 2017, aboard the RMS ''Queen Mary 2, ''while it was docked in New York City. The film was then released on December 20th, 2017. Like Disney’s Live-Action Of ''Beauty And The Beast, ''a sing-along version of the film was released in the United Kingdom on February 2nd. '''Marketing' On June 21st, 2017, Paramount Pictures released the first international trailer to promote the film. On September 13th, 2017, the second trailer was released. And on November 5th, 2017, the final trailer was released. Home Media In the United States, the film was released via digital download on March 20, 2018, and was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD on April 10, 2018. In the United Kingdom, the film was released first on digital download on April 27th, 2018, while Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD copies went sale on May 14th. These versions include the sing-along version, two hours of behind-the-scenes footage, and the making of Cats. Reception Cats ''spend 251 days in release, closing on August 27th, 2018, having grossed $187.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $301.4 million in other territories, for a worldwide $489 million, against a production budget of $93 million. It is the third highest-grossing musical ever in North America and globally respectively, and ''Deadline Hollywood ''estimated the film would turn a profit between $50-100 million. In the United States and Canada, ''Cats was released alongside Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, ''And was projected to gross around $21 million from 3,006 theaters over first six days. It took in $2 million on its first day and $2 million on its second. Over the three day weekend, it grossed $9 million (for a sis-day total of $19 million,) finishing fourth at the box office, behind ''Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle, ''and ''Stan & Ollie. In its second weekend, the film grossed $15.5 million again finishing 4th at the box office. The weekend-to-weekend increase of 76.3% marked the largest ever for a film playing in over 3,000 theaters, and the fourth biggest ever. In its third week, the film dropped 11% to $14 million. The film made $13 million in its fourth weekend and $11 million in its fifth, finishing 4th and 5th at the box office, respectively. The film continued to hold well in its sixth week of release, grossing $9.5 million and returning to 4th place, and again finished fourth in its seventh week, this time grossing $7.8 million (a drop of just 18%). It is the 13th highest-grossing film that never reached first place at the American box office. Critical Response ' On review aggreator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval 78% on based on 251 reviews, and an average rating of 6.8/10. The website‘s critical consensus reads “''Although it‘s not a purrfect movie, Cats is an honorably decent-enough-to-watch movie that has spectacular dancing, amazing singing, and a plot that stays true to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s beloved masterpiece.” ''On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100, based on 62 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews.” Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “A” on an A+ to F scale, and it earned a 81% “definite recommend” from PostTrak. Owen Glieberman gave the film a positive review, writing that ''Cats ''is a concoction, the kind of film where all of the piece click, yet at an hour and 45 minutes it flies by, and the link it draws between Andrew Lloyd Webber’s masterpiece, and the story tries to stays genuinely true, but it’s more than just original. Richard-Hoper of the ''Chicago Sun-Times ''gave the film 3/4 stars, saying “With all that bizarre, and yet ghastly cat outfits, ''Cats ''ends up scoring some very incredible singing and dancing that Andrew Lloyd Webber himself would have approved the dramatic sleight of hand.” Steve Persall of ''Tampa Bay Times ''gave the film an ‘A’ and said that “''Cats ''is a wonderful and feel-good movie the holiday season needs”, while William Bibbiani Of IGN gave ''Cats ''a score 8.3/10, and called the film ‘a spectacular musical.’ Britton Peele of ''The Dallas Morning News ''said, “The story is interesting and the dances are well-acted, but it’s a musical number that makes ''Cats ''a masterpiece.” Jackie K. Cooper of ''HuffPost ''gave the film a score 10/10 and wrote “You will be overwhelmed by the music and the magic that explode on the screen. The film is entertaining enough, and it stays true to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s dazzling musical of all time with incredible singing, and spectacular dance moves.” High Armitage of ''Digital Spy ''said, “''Cats ''is a broad and solid crowd-pleaser. An undemanding spectacle for the family.” Alan Jones of ''Radio Times ''called it “A marvelously uplifting potpourri of visual resplendence, stylish choreography and solid gold magic, one engineered to approximate the lavish spectacle the movie musical once offered.” Shelia O’ Malley of ''RogerEbert.com ''gave it 3.5/4 stating “''Cats ''is an untarnished piece of proper entertainment punctuated by memorable songs.” Douglas Davidson of ''CLTure called the film “An undeniable spectacle with an infectious soundtrack, a movie that dazzles and delights.” James Berardinelli of ''ReelViews ''gave the film a 3/4 score, and said “The film has show-stopping well-cheoregraphed numbers with catchy tunes.” And Calvin Wilson of ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch ''called the film “A highly enjoyable movie with lots of amazing dancing, and timeless songs.” Carl Kozlowski of ''Pasadena Weekly ''gave the film an ‘A’ calling it “Astonishing and grandly innovative.” Sean P. Means of ''The Salt Lake Tribune ''gave ''Cats ''a 3.7/4 stars, saying “A strong cast give emotional power to this timeless tune-filled Broadway musical.” Manuela Lazic of ''Little White Lies ''gave it 4/5 stars, saying “''Cats ''deserves to become a Christmas classic. The film’s gigantic musical number, and rhapsodic, but affecting enthusiasm make it irresistibly life-affirming.” Pete Hammond of ''Deadline Hollywood ''gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and called it “A fantasia of song and dance, a jubilant exercise in pure entertainment that is made for the holiday crowd.” Conversely, Mick LaSalle of the ''San Francisco Chronicle ''gave the film a negative review, criticizing the songs and the characters and saying “There’s macabre, and there’s resplendent, but ''Cats ''is that special thing that happens sometimes. It’s respendently macabre. It’s an atrocious mess, and it’s flashy. The temptation is to cover your face and watch it through your fingers, because it’s so earnest, cheesy, and misguided — and yet it’s well-made.” In a negative review for ''The Hollywood Reporter, ''David Rooney wrote “This absurd portrait of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s broadway musical is all smoke and mirrors, no substance. It hammers a feline theme of beauty, humor, romance and sensibilty. You’ve rarely seen a straight-laced musical about the joys of letting your feline flag fly. '''Accolades Spinoff In February 2019, Tom Hooper said he and Andrew Lloyd Webber had begun development on a brand new musical ''Dogs, ''with Andrew Lloyd Webber expected to write new songs for the film.Category:Movies